Table having collapsible legs



Oct. 3 0, 1956 AMBER 2,768,866

TABLE HAVING "COLLAPSIBL .E LEGS Filed Jan. 14, 1955 IN V EN TOR.

By jemm qmbe United States Patent ice This invention belongs to that general class of devices known as tables and relates particularly to folding tables and the like. The invention has among its objects the production of a means of the kind described, that is simple, durable and compact in stnicture, inexpensive to make and manufacture, dependable and eflicient in use and service, and convenient to handle and store; a table device that is pleasing and attractive in appearance and very satisfactory for use whenever and wherever found needful.

Other objects, advantages and features of this particularly described invention will appear from a careful perusal of the accompanying drawings, the subjoined and detailed description, the preamble to these specifications, and the claims appended hereto.

Below, applicant describes one of the preferred forms of his invention in order to teach the art thereof and show how to make and use the same, but it is to be understood that the drawings and description thereof are not to limit the invention in any sense whatsoever except as the invention may be limited by the prior pertinent art.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a table showing the invention;

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the showing of Figure 1, with a portion thereof broken away;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a leg of the device, parts being shown in section and parts in elevation;

Figure 4 is an edge elevational view of a portion of the device showing one of the legs folded against the underside of the table top, and including an extended view in dotted lines showing an intermediate position of the leg and braces; and

Figure 5 is an inverted fragmentary vertical sectional view of the plate on the underside of the table top.

The invention, as illustrated, comprises a table top 1 which may be of any suitable material such as wood, metal, plastics etc. and which table top is secured in any suitable manner to an under yoke plate 2 by screws, bolts, cement etc. The lower leg portions are indicated by the numerals 3, 4 and 5 and the upper'leg portions by 6, 7 and 8, respectively. Only three legs are shown, but it should be obvious that more legs may be employed if desired. It should also be pointed out here, that the shape of the table top may be of any suitable design, for instance, round, square, pentagon, hexagon, octagon or in some special design such as a clover leaf etc.

Each leg or support means has a pair of braces or pivoted strut elements 9 and 10, these braces being pivoted to the upper end of the lower leg portion in each case by a rivet pin 11. The upper leg portions are pivoted to the 1 centrally located flanged elements 12, 13 and 14, as shown. Each brace is pivoted to the underside of the plate by the flanged elements, that is, their respective flange elements indicated at 15. Each flange element is a simple L-shape wherein one of the flaps or flanges is pivoted to an end of one of the braces and its other flap structed as shown best in Figure 3.

2,768,866 Patented Oct. 30, 1956 or flange is bolted or otherwise secured to the bottom of the plate 2. However, it is preferred that these flanged elements be cut from the plate, or punched out from the plate to avoid bolting and other ways of fixing such elements to the plate. Therefore, a single flap, as shown in Figure 5 is bent from the plate so that the plate and flaps can be made as a single integral piece.

Each upper leg (7, 8 or 6) has its lower end con- The upper leg is pivoted to the lower leg at 16 by a pivot type of rivet pin, and the lower leg is slotted or bifurcated at 17 and grooved at 18 to accommodate the upper leg portion (6, 7 or 8) when it is snugly pressed into the groove 18 when the table is in folded position or condition, see Figure 4. The upper leg has its lower end provided with notches 19and'20.

Thepin '11 connecting the braces to the lower leg portions serves the additional purpose of limiting or-stopping the pivoting of lower legs 35 relative to upper legs 68 when alignment is achieved as shown in Figures 1 and 3. Thus (Figure 3) pin 11 engages the bottom of notch 19 in the upper leg and prevents additional pivoting of the lower leg about pin 16 and in a counterclockwise direction. Since the combined upper and lower legs slant outwardly and obliquely from the center of the table, downward pressing upon the table top tends to effect such counterclockwise pivoting. This, coupled with the fact that braces 9 and 10 prevent counterclockwise pivoting (Figure 3) of the aligned upper and lower legs 2 and 5 about element 13, means that the leg structure will lock and support weight upon the table top with no necessity for any detents, spring clips or the like.

The lower notch 20 receives pin 11 when upper leg 8 (Figure 3) pivots counterclockwise about pin 16 and into groove 18. This permits the folding of the leg structure flat against the underside of the table top as shown in solid lines in Figure 4.

It is, of course, understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of form, style, design, material and construction of the whole or any part of the invention without departing from the spirit thereof; such possible changes and modifications are deemed to be within the scope of the following claims:

I claim:

1. A folding table construction, which comprises a table top and a plurality of leg structures, each of said leg structures including an elongated upper leg pivotally connected to the center portion of said table top, an elongated lower leg pivotally connected to said upper leg, said upper and lower legs being constructed to jackknife together into substantially the same plane, stop means to prevent relative pivoting between said upper and lower legs in a given direction when the same have pivoted from a jackknifed condition to an extended substantially aligned condition, and brace means pivotally connected at one end to said table top at a point disposed outwardly from said center portion and at the other end to the leg structure at a point adjacent the connection between said upper and lower legs, said brace means being adapted when said table top is substantially horizontal and said upper and lower legs are in said extended substantially aligned condition and inclined obliquely outwardly from said center portion to prevent pivoting of said upper leg about said table top due to a downward force exerted on said table top, said downward force tending to elfect relative pivoting between said upper and lower legs in said given direction so that said stop means prevents such relative pivoting.

2. The invention as claimed in claim 1, in which said lower leg is grooved to receive said upper leg in jackknife relationship.

3. The invention as claimed in claim 1, in which said other end of said brace means is connected to said lower leg and by a pivot element, and in which said upper leg is notched to receive said pivot element, said stop means being formed between said pivot element and the portion of said upper leg at the bottom of said notch.

4. The invention as claimed in claim 1, in which said brace means comprises two elongated brace elements each pivotally connected at one end to said lower leg and at the other end to said table top, said other ends of said brace elements being spaced apart from each other a substantial distance and being located at two corners of a triangle the'third corner of which is formed by the pivot connection between said upper leg and said table top.

5. A folding table construction, which comprises a table top and a plurality of leg structures, each of said leg structures including an elongated upper leg pivotally connected at one end to the center portion of said table top, an elongated lower leg having one end pivotally connected to the other'end of said upper leg, said upper and lower legs being constructed to jackknife together into substantially the same plane, a pair of braces pivotally connected to said lower leg at a point above the pivot also being pivotally connected at their opposite ends to said table top at points spaced apart from each other and disposed outwardly from said center portion a substantial distance, and stop means to associate the pivot connection between said braces and said lower leg with said upper leg in order to prevent relative pivotal movement between said upper and lower legs when the same are in extended substantially aligned condition, said stop means and said braces cooperating to lock said legs against the efiects of downward forces upon said table top when said upper and lower legs are in said aligned condition and inclined obliquely outwardly from said center portion of said table top.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,835,272 Burlin et al. Dec. 8, 1931 1,923,067 Gordun Aug. 22, 1933 2,039,642 Flint May 5, 1936 

